The Omega Chronicles
by hunter 139
Summary: The Pirate Queen of Omega meets with the ruthless Sith Lord Darth Maul to discuss a business proposition, but this kicks off a chain of events that could change the balance of power in the criminal underworld. Multi-crossover.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Star Wars, Mass Effect or Halo.**

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><p>Aria T'Loak sat waiting in her booth overlooking the interior of the Afterlife club.<p>

Omega was running smoothly under her rule since the Reaper War had ended years ago, her influence once again encompassed the Terminus Systems and Citadel Space, and business in the criminal underworld was good.

However she was worried that was about to change: A few days ago, Darth Maul, the head of the multidimensional crime syndicate known as the Shadow Collective, requested a meeting with the ruler of Omega to discuss a business proposition.

The Shadow Collective had their hands in criminal operations all over IDA territory, and now it seemed they wanted Omega.

Aria had agreed, but knew that she really had no choice in the matter, because Maul could take over the station if he really wanted to.

Despite their recent actions betraying the Flood, the Shadow Collective still had a military large enough to warrant considerable concern from the IDA (though not enough to warrant the full attention of the other two superpower galaxies), and although Omega had upgraded defenses, courtesy of Cerberus during their brief time in control of her station, the Shadow Collective could take control or destroy Omega if they put everything into the effort.

"And from what I've heard of Maul, if he wants this station, he certainly would order an all-out attack on Omega."

That's why she had agreed to a meeting with the Sith Lord on her station; he'd have to come into her territory, and if negotiations went south, she would be in a position to dictate terms, or eliminate him.

Plus, she was curious to hear what the proposition was, and you could learn a lot about someone through a simple conversation, since she wanted to know what Maul was like.

At that moment, one of her lieutenants approached and informed her that Maul's fighter had docked with the station, and a fleet of Shadow Collective ships were hanging back a considerable distance from Omega.

"He's smart enough to bring reinforcements, I'll give him that," Aria said, and waited for Maul's arrival.

She didn't have to wait long; 10 minutes later, the door to the interior of the club opened, and the delegation strode through.

Two humanoid figures, with a crown of horns on their heads, strolled through first. One was two meters tall, covered in black armor, had a cybernetic left arm, and his face was covered in yellow and brown tattoos. This was Savage Opress, Darth Maul's brother and second-in-command.

In front of him was a shorter figure, wearing a black and brown tunic that exposed a strip of his bare chest. His legs and lower waist were clearly mechanical and his face and body was covered in red and black tattoos. Despite the brute standing behind him, he carried himself with an aura of authority and fear, leaving no doubt that this was Darth Maul.

Following the two Zabraks were a pair of Mandalorian bodyguards, with their armor painted in shades of red and black, that were no doubt members of Maul's elite Death Watch forces.

Most of the people on Omega had seen weird species and individuals from all over the multiverse but this group was so bizarre in appearance that most of the people in the club turned their heads when they saw him... and the ones who recognized them backed away in fear, thus Maul was unimpeded as he walked up the stairs into Aria's booth.

She sat on her couch looking away from the group as her guards scanned them; they were carrying weapons, which was no surprise as all customers were allowed to enter the club armed, but the scans proved they were who they said they were.

Aria gestured to Maul, who walked up the short incline to the sofa.

"Aria T'Loak," he said by way of greeting.

"Lord Maul, have a seat," she replied and as he silently took a seat across from her, she said,

"Let's talk."

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><p><strong>I might end up making this into a series, and incorporating more franchises into it, so stay tuned for more.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**There's a lot of exposition in this chapter and I apologize for that.**

**But I might as well get as much of it as I can out of the way now.**

**I don't own Star Wars, Mass Effect or Halo.**

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><p>Darth Maul had plans for his conquest of the multiverse: having gained the allegiance of Death Watch, Black Sun, the Pyke Syndicate and the Zann Consortium through a series of threats and well-placed decapitations, the young Sith Lord was well on his way to becoming the ruler of the criminal underworld.<p>

There had been some setbacks, of course. Being manipulated into reviving the Gravemind from his defeat at the hands of the Republic and the Separatists and then being forced to serve that monster, had not been a part of Maul's plan. But if Sidious could adapt his plans to changing situations, so could his former apprentice. The Shadow Collective had prepared dozens of planet-killer weapons and hidden them inside multiple Brethren Moons. During a crucial battle between the Moons and the Republic and the Separatists, the Collective set them off, severely hurting (but not crippling) the Gravemind`s ability to wage war and allowing them to flee.

This had critical benefits for the Sith Lord: Not only did they force the two intergalactic superpowers to leave them be and focus on the larger threat, not only did this act gain him considerable clout in the criminal underworld, and not only did they escape into IDA territory, but Maul had outsmarted the _Gravemind _in the process. It was beautiful: the Gravemind had been aware of Maul`s traitorous intent since it began, but the Sith Lord had known about that and therefore passed up several ample opportunities to make a move.

Instead, the Shadow Collective had struck after the Gravemind had recovered the capsule he had launched through time that contained pure Flood spores. Thanks to this, the Gravemind's attention was diverted into breeding the Flood back to a sufficient size and keeping that little project a secret from the rest of the Multiverse.

And because his plan had been so perfectly executed, it meant that the Gravemind`s focus was elsewhere, while the Shadow Collective was free to operate unhindered from behind the scenes. Maul's actions had revealed the Flood's return before they were ready, shifting attention away from him, and forcing the superpowers to concentrate on the Gravemind.

However, he still needed allies and territory (if for no other reason than to force them between him, Savage and the Flood) and the best place to find both was in the Terminus Systems. He had contacted Aria T`Loak, the ruler of the trade capital of the Terminus Systems to discuss an alliance between the two crime lords, one that he would prefer to gain with little bloodshed.

This was not out of any sense of morality or decency, as Maul was above such concepts, but rather pure pragmatism: Omega was known to have a lawless population, but Aria was known as the ruler who could best keep the people in line. If she died or abdicated, Omega would be thrown into chaos, and any military force would be hard-pressed to regain the balance of power. The Shadow Collective could do it given time, but that would be a waste of effort and material, when he could simply have the her on his side.

That was why he had agreed to meet her on her station. Maul knew he needed to make a decent impression and argument to get her support, but things got to a head in the negotiations, when she mentioned his involvement with the Flood.

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><p>It was those the eyes that unnerved her the most about him. Through her long life, Aria T`Loak had met individuals of many different species, but Darth Maul disturbed her more than anyone she had ever dealt with. What she knew of his personality didn`t help: Raised as a Sith Lord and trained to use the Dark Side of the Force, Maul was a brutally efficient killing machine enveloping a core of absolute rage.<p>

According to rumors he had been cut in half by a Jedi, but pure hatred enabled him to pull through and eventually come to where he was now, sitting across from him on her couch. Aria could tell that he was genuine about his offer just by looking in his eyes, but that wasn`t all she saw. She saw that Maul was prepared to level the station if he was denied and that he would kill her with his bare hands if necessary.

But the thing she could see in Maul`s eyes was pain: several decades worth of pain and suffering. That view made her sick.

Still she hadn`t become the ruler of Omega by being soft. Maul had agreed to most of her terms, but they came to a head when she had mentioned his involvement with the Flood.

"Our time with the Gravemind was not by my choice." he said quietly, with a hint of anger creeping into his voice.

"And how can I be sure that you're no longer indoctrinated or brainwashed?" Aria calmly replied, as her entourage grew tense, prepared to draw their weapons.

"You're suggesting that abomination allowed itself to be mutilated by us?"

"I just want to know where my potential allies stand before I agree to anything." She said warningly. Maul silently glared at her before responding.

"What would help convince you?" He calmly asked. Aria stood up from the couch, so she was standing above him, knowing this would rile him up. She paused for a moment before she answered the lingering question."

"Prove it to me."

At this, Maul smirked, eyes gleaming, causing Aria to wonder if she had pushed his temper too far.

At blinding speed, the Sith Lord leapt up from the couch, and in one fluid motion, drew his darksaber and held the ignited blade against Aria's throat. At the same instant, Aria had drawn her pistol, putting it right to the side of Maul's head.

"Is this enough proof?!" He growled, his voice having grown deeper and monstrous.

Simultaneously, Aria's guards had drawn their weapons, while Savage had ignited his own lightsaber, and the Death Watch soldiers pointed their built in weapons at the guards. For a long moment, no one made a sound, then Aria broke the silence;

"A standoff then."

"This can end with your death, or it can end with us as allies." Maul calmly replied, his tone having shifted into a softer pitch again.

"You really think you can kill me?" Aria asked,

"Do you want to find out?" Maul threatened, edging the blade closer to her neck as she tightened her finger on the trigger.

The entourage and the club tensely watched as Aria and Maul were locked in a death glare.

Eventually Aria blinked first. Pulling her gun away and gesturing to her guards to the same, she said

"We have a deal, access to Omega's resources and facilities in exchange for protection forces, a 10% cut of your business profits, and your help to bring the Eclipse, Blue Suns and Blood Pack under my control once again."

Smiling, Maul deactivated the darksaber and likewise gestured to his escort to stand down.

"Agreed, welcome to the Shadow Collective, Aria T'Loak."

Pulling back, Aria smiled and said, "so let's discuss business. "

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed this chapter.<strong>

**Now I put the Zann Consortium (Empire at War: Forces of Corruption) because I wanted Maul to have a strong military that was privately-owned and Star Wars themed, and they fit the bill perfectly.**

**I`ll try to add some action in next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Alien, Predator, Mass Effect, Star Wars, or Halo.**

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><p>Planet Zorya<p>

In an office building in the middle of the capital, the publicly known CEO of the Blue Suns, Solem Dal'serah, sat in a boardroom, surrounded by other members of the Blue Suns command including Darner Vosque, who had taken control of the company during the Reaper war after the death of Commander Vido Santiago.

Despite his unimpressive combat record, Vosque had been slippery enough to maintain control of the Blue Suns throughout the Reaper War and afterwards, during the time of the IDA and the Great Flood War.

This meeting had been called to discuss their profits for the next fiscal year, but midway through the meeting, they were interrupted by an alert from Zorya orbital watch. The sentries reported that several ships, including three Kom'rk-class fighter/transports, had entered orbit and were requesting permission to land outside Blue Suns' corporate HQ, in order to discuss an alliance.

Vosque, greedy and conniving as always, hailed the incoming ships to grant them clearance to land outside the building. As soon as the transmission ended, he began another one, ordering extra Blue Suns guards to the spaceport with orders to kill the occupants of the craft and obtain their ships and weapons.

Smiling, Vosque returned to the meeting at hand, nevertheless eagerly awaiting the news that Blue Suns had gained access to Mandalorian ships, weapons and armor.

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><p>As the first Kom'rk fighter touched down, the guards stationed outside quickly noticed a few oddities with the incoming flights.<p>

For starters, the lead ship that had just touched down was painted with gray with dull red highlights, in contrast to the other fighters, which were colored gray with blue highlights.

For another thing, the two other fighters weren't landing; instead they were hovering over the spaceport, with the rest of the spacecraft touching down elsewhere throughout the city.

Confused, the guards shrugged and went to greet the arriving crew with a combination of kind words and bullets to the head. The Blue Suns had their orders and they would follow them. Despite their cutthroat nature, discipline had made this merc band superior to their rivals in the Blood Pack and Eclipse, and these visitors would soon realize that.

Unfortunately for the guards on the ground, they already knew about the 'superiority' of the Blue Suns, which was the reason the Shadow Collective had targeted them first.

As several squads of Blue Suns troopers reached the fighter, the boarding ramp opened and two nightmares exited from the airlock. As the troopers gaped in fear, Darth Maul and Savage Opress strode onto the landing platform, igniting their lightsabers as their boots made contact with the concrete pad.

Upon seeing the activated weapons in their midst, the Blue Suns started firing upon the Sith Lords, who simply twirled their lightsabers around with quick and practised precision, vaporizing the shots mid-flight.

The Suns kept firing, knowing that the brothers couldn't evade or block the shots forever.

But they didn't need to.

Concurrently to the events on the ground, the bellies of the other two Kom'rk transports opened up, disgorging four squads of Death Watch soldiers. Flying down with their jetpacks, several fired their back-mounted missiles at the crowded Blue Suns platoon, killing or maiming half of them in one salvo.

This turn of events forced the Suns to redirect their attention toward the airborne threat, which gave an opening to Maul and Savage. Allowing the dark side to flow through them, the brothers pounced, using Force-propelled leaps and bounds to put themselves in the midst of the Suns.

In close quarters combat against two feral yet skilled lightsaber wielders, the mercenaries never stood a chance. The prepared ambush had turned into a disorganized rout within 5 minutes.

Several Death Watch soldiers flew down and landed around their masters. A captain, with his helmet covered in spikes that mimicked the crown of horns coming from Maul and Savage, stepped forward requesting orders.

"Secure the city. Kill anyone who resists." Maul ordered, before gesturing to several of his soldiers.

"The six of you, come with us." He said. Complying, the Death Watch warriors followed their masters as they made their way towards the corporate HQ.

Inside the facility, the invading party encountered heavy resistance from the security forces in the building. It seemed that a squad of Blue Suns soldiers was around every corner, so much so that the Mandalorians started unleashing their flamethrowers at every junction.

Halfway through the facility, it seemed that the Blue Suns had run out of guards, as security mechs had been deployed in their stead. Maul and Savage cut through any LOKI and FENRIS mechs with ease, and when they came across a YMIR mech, Death Watch would just unleash their built-in arsenals against them, reducing them into a pile of scrap metal.

Within 15 minutes, the strike team had arrived at the top floor, and they quickly made their way to the boardroom...

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><p>Vosque and Dal'serah stared in horror at the scene unfolding beyond the window.<p>

Death Watch and Black Sun soldiers had ambushed multiple military bases, catching most of the capital's defenses and soldiers with their guard down. Meanwhile, the Zann Consortium had deployed armored forces with infantry support throughout the city, with Canderous assault tanks and Mobile Pulse Cannons making short work of what little armor support was still available to the Blue Suns.

The Shadow Collective had landed an invasion force throughout the capital and reports from orbit were equally grim, as a Collective war fleet had arrived and smashed the Suns' home fleet to bits.

Orbital reinforcements would take time to arrive, which left groundside positions vulnerable to orbital bombardment of the Shadow Collective's Aggressor-class destroyers. Invasion forces were already landing at other cities across the planet, costing the Blue Suns personnel, resources, supplies, income and material.

This was a disaster.

As Vosque watched a Mantis gunship get blown out of the air by a Death Watch missile, an incoming chime alerted the boardroom to intruders outside. Two seconds later, the door exploded inward, blowing dust and smoke all over the Blue Suns leadership. This was followed by blaster bolts, aimed precisely to kill the bodyguards present, while leaving the board members alive.

Mandalorian warriors filed into the room, weapons aimed at the cowering commanders. As the dust and smoke settled, Maul and Savage entered the room, crimson lightsabers deactivating as they did. Scanning the room, Maul's eyes fell on Vosque, who started to regain his composure as the two Sith Lords calmly stalked towards them.

"What is the meaning of this?" Vosque demanded angrily, seemingly oblivious to the weapons pointed at him.

"I have a message from Aria T'Loak," Maul replied, "She gave you her support during the Reaper War, and now it's time to return the favor."

Vosque bristled at the mention of Aria. 'Of course that blue whore was behind this attack,' "You ransack our headquarters, kill our soldiers, burn our facilities to the ground, and now you just expect us to join with you and her?!"

The Sith Lord simply nodded.

"You tell that bitch that she'll get no support from the Blue Suns, and that this means war! For her and you!" Four of the Blue Suns leadership nodded in agreement with Vosque's words before they remembered the guns currently pointed at their heads.

Maul's head tilted slightly as he regarded the Blue Suns CEO.

"Is that your final word?" Vosque crossed his arms defiantly in response. Maul shrugged.

"As you wish." Turning to the Zabrak behind him, Maul gestured toward Vosque, "Savage?"

"With pleasure," the hulking brute replied with a menacing smile.

Gripping Vosque's neck with Force, Savage lifted up the gasping man, letting him hang suspended in front of the terrified board members for a moment, before hurling Vosque's body through the window.

Turning away from Vosque's screams of terror as he fell a hundred stories, Maul looked back towards the table.

"Anyone else?"

No one replied. They were too scared to after what they had just witnessed. That window was rated to withstand a missile strike, yet that Zabrak had sent Vosque through it like it was made of tissue paper.

Maul then walked up to Del'serah, ignoring the pungent odor wafting from the batarian's pants.

"You're next in line to lead?"

Del'serah nodded.

Maul smiled. "Good. Order the Blue Suns to stand down, and tell them that they now work for the Aria T'Loak and the Shadow Collective," a turian stood up to object, but Maul raised his fist, leaving the turian gasping for air.

"Now."

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><p>Eclipse captain Enoli sat down in the bridge of her ship, listening to the report coming from Zorya. Apparently, Blue Suns had chosen to side with Aria T'Loak, devoting manpower, equipment and funds to her cause.<p>

Enoli was curious as to how Aria got the Blue Suns to join her, but her musings were interrupted by an incoming call from a potential buyer. An audio only call. That raised a few flags with her, and she quickly answered.

"I hear Eclipse is proficient at smuggling." Said a male voice, deliberately distorted by vocal software.

"You heard correctly," Enoli replied, her suspicions growing with each passing second.

"I need some crates delivered to several specific locations, unopened." said the voice.

"And where would these crates be delivered to?" she asked.

"4 supply stations in the Omega Nebula; one in the Fathar system (this raised the alarm in Enoli's mind; the Eclipse had a base in that system on the planet Lorek), one in the Arinlarken system, and 2 in the Amada system."

Enoli frowned as the alarm bells in her head became warning klaxons. The stations mentioned were likely the one that were rumored to be commissioned by Aria T'Loak as supply and waypoint bases. They were likely feeding supplies to Omega itself. "And how much is this worth to you, Mr...?"

"Call me Burke," the voice said, "and we're willing to pay 50000 credits per crate delivered."

Enoli's jaw dropped when she heard the amount. Whatever this guy was smuggling, it wasn't any type of illegal drugs. They weren't worth nearly that much. The only likely products that could be worth smuggling for that much, would be some kind of weaponry.

Whatever the risks were on this job, the reward was too much to pass up.

Still, as an Eclipse captain, she knew better than to just agree to those terms.

"We'll do it for 75000." She haggled. There was silence for a moment, then Burke responded.

"60000"

"70000, take it or leave it." She argued.

Burke paused then replied, "65000, final offer, or we'll take our business elsewhere."

Enoli paused, then nodded to herself.

"Agreed."

"Excellent, we'll contact you later with the pickup and drop off locations." The line went dead as Burke disconnected.

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><p>In a sterile control room, Burke shut off communications and turned to the figure standing behind him.<p>

"We're ready to begin?" The man asked. Burke nodded.

"Our soldiers are loading the crates with their cargo, they'll be ready for pickup within the hour." Burke gestured to the monitor. The video showcased a group of white-armored soldiers overseeing a group of heavily armored combat androids as they loaded the items in question.

The PMC soldiers had backed away as far as they could from the combat androids; an understandable reaction, given the nature of the cargo they were carrying.

The figure nodded, "Our benefactors want this operation to be quick, stealthy and most importantly, untraceable. The man said, before turning his gaze to Burke.

"Make sure there is no evidence that the crates belong to us." He said threateningly, before turning on his heel and walking away.

Burke gulped. "Yes, Mr. Weyland."

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed this chapter, stay tuned for more.<strong>

**Reviews are welcome.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Star Wars, Halo, Mass Effect, Alien, or Predator.**

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><p>Planet Garvug<p>

Ganar Yulaz had experienced a lot in his long life: the bloodlust he felt when he survived the krogan rite of passage, the pride he felt when he rose to become the leader of the Blood Pack, following in the footsteps of his clansman Ganar Wrang, and the satisfaction at wrestling control of the gang from the vorcha after the Reaper War.

He was a warrior, one to be feared and respected, for he commanded the strongest and most infamous security company in the Skyllian Verge.

Which is why today's events were both baffling and infuriating.

Darth Maul, the infamous criminal warlord, had landed an army on Garvug, consisting of Death Watch warriors, Black Sun soldiers, Blue Suns mercs and Zann Consortium soldiers and vehicles. What was even more surprising was that soon after landing, Maul had contacted the Blood Pack leader, requesting that he join up with him and Aria T'Loak.

Yulaz felt his blood boil as he stared at the hologram of the Sith Lord in front of him, whose soft voice displayed a lack of respect or fear and was tinged with a sense of... boredom.

"You're asking the Blood Pack to join you and that asari, and yet you offer no payment?!" Yulaz snarled angrily.

"Join us or die, the choice is yours." Maul replied.

Enraged now, Yulaz cut the transmission and ordered the forces in the capital to converge on the assembled Shadow Collective army, who were outnumbered given the large amount of vorcha and krogan that were on the planet.

As the Blood Pack legion marched, Maul stood on a hill, unconcerned with the horde of vorcha and krogan converging on them. Given the histories of both species, he knew that bombarding the planet from orbit wouldn't win their respect or allegiance, and on the advice of Savage, chose to meet might with might, perfectly willing to prove to the krogan that the Shadow Collective is not to be trifled with.

As the Blood Pack reached the outskirts of the city, the Collective's secret weapon landed on planet.

"Deploy the annihilator droid," Maul ordered, a slight smirk growing on his face.

The Scorpenek annihilator droid clambered out of the Zann Consortium transport and rose up to its full height, observing the opposing army, who had paused to marvel at the sight of the massive scorpion-shaped automata. Deploying it's bubble shaped ray-particle shield, the droid started unleashing volleys of laser fire at the assembled Blood Pack army, reducing the few Tomkas to smoking husks and vaporizing dozens of vorcha and krogan with each volley. Returning fire simply splashed harmlessly against the annihilator's shield, and soon most of the vorcha had broken ranks and fled.

Maul smiled as the annihilator droid carved a path through the Blood Pack, allowing the rest of the Shadow Collective to storm the capital. Known as the 'big brother" of the feared destroyer droids, the Scorpenek annihilator droid was one of the deadliest weapons in the arsenal of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

During the Clone Wars, a single annihilator was known to be capable of turning an armored column of a dozen AT-TEs into a pile of smoking wrecks, and had been responsible for several Separatist victories. Because of this, the droids were astronomically expensive, the Colicoids having built less than a hundred in total. After the war, the Empire had collected the remaining annihilator droids and transferred them to Palpatine's citadel on the planet Byss.

Consequently, when Byss was destroyed, the galaxy thought all the remaining annihilators had been destroyed with them, but Maul had found one while searching through one of his master's old vaults, safely hidden in the Outer Rim.

It had taken a lot of time and energy to reprogram the annihilator, but as Maul and Savage watched it tear apart Blood Pack fortifications, they knew it was well worth the effort and expense.

Moving into the city, Maul and Savage headed straight for the HQ of Ganar Yulaz, with most of the resistance from the Blood Pack crushed in their path.

As they arrived at the top floor, the brothers were greeted by Yulaz charging at them. They had no time to react as the 500 pound krogan body-slammed into them both, grabbed them and then hurled them into the center of the room.

Savage recovered first and was able to stop Yulaz's second charge with a combination of his own raw strength and the power of the Force. Holding the krogan in place, Savage unleashed a brutal flurry of Force assisted punches that wore down the Blood Pack leader. Yulaz's own blows were either blocked or dodged by the unnaturally fast moving Nightbrother, and Savage was free to continue his barrage uninterrupted.

An uppercut from his cybernetic arm was the coup de grace that sent Yulaz sprawling on the floor, stunned.

"Excellent work, Savage." Maul said, as his brother grinned at the compliment. Praise from Darth Maul was rare, and it is something to be remembered.

Stalking over to Yulaz's stirring form, the krogan leader awoke to see the blade of the darksaber pointing at his neck.

"Submit or suffer." Maul growled as Savage ignited one of the ends of his lightsaber and joined his brother by pointing the tip at Yulaz's throat.

Seeing no other choice, Yulaz bowed his head in a gesture of submission.

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><p>"It was supposed to be an easy job." Burke said over the communications link, "deliver the crates to the warehouse, we were told that the Eclipse would be able to handle that."<p>

He gestured to the screen that displayed Captain Enoli

"And yet you failed." He accused, pointing his finger at the asari.

"There were security guards waiting for us at the drop point, and you promised that wouldn't be the case." She replied, "I lost several of my best men, and a good chunk of their equipment, so you better be able to pay for all of that."

"For an unfinished job?" Burke replied angrily.

The task had been simple: smuggle a number of crates to multiple space stations all over the sector. These stations all had some importance to Omega, and Weyland-Yutani had been ordered by the Separatists to deliver their surprises to them, so they could eventually move to Omega itself.

The first 3 deliveries had gone smoothly, but for the final drop, someone had tipped off station security, who had attacked Eclipse as they arrived.

"My benefactors paid the Eclipse, specifically, because we were told that if there was any armed resistance, your men would be able to deal with it, but they send you running?"

"Security was tighter than we were told, and we can't go back again because they'll be waiting for us." Enoli replied.

Burke cursed, "Alright," he said "We'll pay you for the deliveries done," he said, as the payment transferred to the accounts the Eclipse had set up.

"Deliver the remaining crates back to us, and we'll pay you for the rest."

"I don't think so," the captain responded, "we're taking the remaining crates as compensation for the men we lost, and I'm sure the contents will be worth more on the black market than what you're paying us."

She cut the link before Burke could respond.

Enoli sat down in her chair, grimacing. They had been given 20 crates; 4 large ones capable of holding a person inside, and 16 smaller ones, that were split into groups of 4. 5 crates were to be delivered to each space station, but as the Eclipse proceeded with their mission, they realized the crates doubled as stasis containers, holding their cargo in suspended animation.

A few curious soldiers attempted to peek inside, but found that the crates were magnetically sealed with a timed lock, keeping anyone from opening them.

Enoli had ordered that the deliveries would proceed as planned, but when they got to the station in the Arinlarkan system, they found security forces were waiting for them. A firefight had ensued, leaving 5 of her men dead, and several of them injured, having barely escaped into their ship before Enoli ordered a retreat.

Figuring that the contents of the crates were fairly valuable, but desiring payment at the same time, Enoli had contacted Burke to ensure he paid up before ordering a course set for the Eclipse space station hidden in the Fathar system.

Arriving at the old run-down space station, Eclipse guards offloaded the 5 remaining crates, and got their lock-picking specialists to work on them, to see if the locks could be broken.

Unfortunately, they couldn't do break the seal, so Enoli decided to wait it out, seeing as the lock was set to open in a day or so. All in all, not the best mission for Eclipse, though, whatever was in the crates would hopefully make it worthwhile.

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><p>Back at the Weyland-Yutani HQ, shortly after Enoli had disconnected, Burke stood there in shock for a moment, but got over it just as Weyland walked in.<p>

"Well, that's a shame," the android said, "but it's still useful. Those crates are capable of being remotely opened, correct?"

"Of course," Burke replied, "Shall I give the order?"

"Yes," Weyland said, "But wait until they arrive at their base, to increase the number of casualties.

Burke grinned in response.

"We'll make the Eclipse regret having crossed us."

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><p>On the Eclipse space station, Captain Enoli ordered that the crates be moved into secure storage, sealed from any form of theft until they opened the next day.<p>

Because of this, there were no witnesses in the vicinity when the remote activation signal unsealed and opened the crates, revealing 4 xenomorph eggs and a live xenomorph drone, who quickly crawled out of the largest crate and into the vents to search for prey.

A few minutes later, the facehuggers exited the egg and followed closely behind the drone, ready to impregnate any isolated and unsuspecting being that they came across.

Unlike their brethren, which had been implanted with nanotechnology and forced to work with Separatist forces, these xenomorphs were uncontrolled and feral.

Weyland-Yutani had unleashed them to serve only as area-denial weapons, leaving them feral so that there was no actual evidence that the Company was behind their release (true, it was no secret that Weyland-Yutani had extensive access to xenomorphs, but they were not the only ones).

As the facehuggers spread throughout the station, finding and impregnating isolated guards and soldiers, the drone made its way to the reactor core, dispatching anyone that got in its way.

Crawling to the level underneath the reactor, the drone started setting up a hive, while Enoli and her soldiers made their way to the cargo hold, expecting to see the crates opened and valuable weaponry inside.

What they found instead was 5 empty crates... no wait, not completely empty. The smaller crates each contained a single leathery object that resembled an egg. However all 4 of them were empty, which angered Enoli to no end.

Furious, Enoli ordered a curfew in place for the civilian workers, while the Eclipse forces spread out searching for whatever had been inside the crates.

Locking civilians in their quarters had been intended to keep the Eclipse's sources of income safe, but unfortunately, this allowed the xenomorphs to kidnap them and take them back to the hive, to be used as hosts or nutrients to create more eggs.

* * *

><p>Within 3 days, dozens of drones had been birthed and fully-grown, and the remaining Eclipse soldiers soon found themselves engaged in a guerilla war against a species that knew no fear.<p>

Squad chatter often consisted of panicked screams and horrible screeching. When reinforcements arrived at the source of the signal, the only evidence that those squads existed was splatters of blood all over the walls and the floor.

Attempts by the Eclipse to send a distress signal were futile, as soldiers found the comm operators dead, their workstations destroyed, and the comm tower itself was discovered have its inner workings melted by acid blood.

Attempts to escape also proved to be futile, as the escape pods all had their distress beacons removed; as Eclipse deemed it a waste of money to keep them. Enoli attempted to escape using her ship, but a xenomorph must have secreted itself inside, as the ship spun out of control shortly after exiting the hanger and slowly burnt up in the atmosphere of the nearby planet.

Eventually, as the casualties mounted, the remaining Eclipse soldiers were forced to fall back on mechs, hoping that the mechanical soldiers would be able to flush the creatures out of hiding. However, the programming of LOKI, FENRIS and YMIR mechs was incapable of fighting against an enemy such as this, and the mechs were destroyed one by one.

Salarian and human mercenaries watched the feeds of the mechs in horror, as their last resort weapons were torn to shreds by the razor sharp claws and teeth of the jet black monsters.

One salarian was watching when he felt something warm and wet splatter on his shoulder. Inspecting the substance, he realized it was drool when a sharp pain in his chest interrupted his thoughts. Staring down, he saw a long jet black tail sticking out of chest, before it retracted, pulling him into the vents with it.

Several hours later, it was over. The Eclipse outpost had been completely overrun by the alien monsters, leaving the station to float lifelessly through the void.

* * *

><p>Events were not faring much better on any of the other stations, as the xenomorphs overran each supply port, the residents were growing desperate.<p>

The station in the Arinlarkan system would be the only one to receive aid during this outbreak, as a cloaked ship docked with the side of the station and cut a hole through the hull. If anyone in the hallway had still been alive, they would have witnessed three cloaked humanoid figures step through the hole.

The 3 soon decloaked revealing themselves to be members of the Predator race. O'rika, the leader of the three brothers, consulted his holomap and found that most of the serpents were in the central area of the station.

Unsheathing their wrist blades in anticipation, the Yautja hunters ran down the corridor, blood boiling in preparation for a worthy hunt.

A scream drew O'rika's attention, diverting his and his brothers path to a nearby medical center. Kicking the door down, O'rika took aim at a turian-birthed serpent standing on an operating table. Hissing, the creature leapt towards him, before a plasma bolt sent it flying in the opposite direction.

This drew the attention of several xenomorphs, who crawled into the room through the vents. However they were quickly cut down by the 3 Predators. Eventually, the tide of xenomorphs stopped and the Yuatja quickly located the source of the scream they had heard:

It had come from underneath a doctor's desk, as a terrified Rodian had screamed and then shot and killed a xenomorph. In panic, he shot a blaster bolt at O'rika, who's armor absorbed the impact.

Ripping the gun from his hands, O'rika bent down so that his face was at eye level with the Rodian. Using his translator, O'rika explained that they were here to help, but the Rodian kept muttering one thing.

"Soldiers in white... took one of those things! They brought them here and left us to die!" The Rodian chanted over and over.

The 3 Predators looked at each other as their minds worked: clearly someone had been here before them and taken a xenomorph. But why and who?

The obvious culprit was the Weyland-Yutani Corporation; their soldiers and combat androids were primarily given white battle armor, and they were known to have an obsessive nature when it comes to xenomorphs. But they already have a monopoly on xenomorph bioweapons, so why would they need to kidnap one, when they already have hundreds if not thousands?

Besides, Wey-Yu xenomorphs have Separatist nanotechnology implanted in their skulls so they would see Separatist IFFs as friendly warriors, and also so they could be given specific instructions.

A quick scan from O'rika's bio-mask revealed that these serpents were unmodified; they were uncontrolled and feral. So who would do something like this?

Shrugging off these thoughts, O'rika called one of the Yuatja aboard their vessel and requested that he escort this Rodian aboard until everything was sorted. Then he and his 2 brothers resumed their hunt in the darkened utility hallways in the facility.

* * *

><p>On the other side of the station, a Delta-class stormtrooper transport had docked at one of the still functioning airlocks, dispensing two squads of Stormtroopers from the 501st Legion. These brave men and women set out to find out the source of this infestation, and hopefully stop it in its tracks.<p>

While the squads split up and fought their way through the bowels of this supply facility, a squad of spacetroopers arrived on the exterior of the station; targeting any xenomorph who had escaped onto the surface and tried to breach their way into the troop transport.

If the hull had been clear of xenomorphs, the spacetroopers would likely have noticed another ship detaching from the station and leaving the system.

* * *

><p>In the bowels of the station, Sidon Valen was fleeing for his life from the monstrosities behind him. As a turian, he had been taught to stand and fight against whatever the opponent threw at you. Never let your enemies see you run, and set traps as you fall back.<p>

Whoever had pioneered those strategies had never encountered these nightmares.

Sidon kept running through the bowels of the station when he tripped over something long and thin. Getting his bearings, he realized it was a xenomorph tail; a salarian-born bug to be precise, if the two cranial horns sprouting from it's elongated head were any indication.

Frozen in terror, Sidon could only watch as the creature raised its tail in order to plunge it into his chest. There was a loud whine and a bolt of red energy slammed into the xenomorph, cauterizing the wound and preventing it's acidic blood from spilling.

Sidon looked behind him to see a squad of Imperial stormtroopers unleashing a volley of blaster fire into the salarian bug, then focusing their fire on any other xenomorphs drawn to the noise.

Once the xenomorphs were all dead, the stormtroopers came up to him. Worried they might shoot him, Sidon realized his fears were unfounded when the lead stormtrooper offered his hand, and helped him up.

"I am Su-mil, what is your name?" The white-armored soldier asked him.

"Sidon Valen." The turian shakily replied. "We'll get you out of here, Sidon, I promise you." Su-mil said assuredly.

The sound of plasma fire drew the attention of the stormtroopers, forcing them to take Sidon as they made their way towards the racket, expecting to have to rescue more survivors.

What they found instead was a large amount of dead xenomorphs, and lots of holes from where their blood had melted through every nearby surface. Sidon and the stormtroopers were surprised to see 3 individuals holding off a horde of xenomorphs with nothing but bolts of plasma, blades and their own hands.

Sidon recognized the 3 aliens as members of the Yautja species; better known as the Predators, they had a tendency to hunt down armed and deadly sentient life for sport, and xenomorphs were known to be some of their favorite prey.

Just as Sidon was wondering if they had been responsible for the xenomorph outbreak, the Predators finished slaughtering all the xenomorphs in the vicinity. Hearing the sound of blasters being pointed at them, the Predators spun toward the source of the noise, targeting lasers pointing at the stormtroopers and Sidon.

An old human phrase summed up Sidon's feelings towards these circumstances:

"Out of the frying pan, into the fire."

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><p><strong>Stay tuned for the next chapter, you may be surprised at what happens next.<strong>

**Please review, I'd like to know whether or not I'm wasting my time on this story.**


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